US employers added healthy 227,000 jobs, rate up to 4.8 pct.

WASHINGTON – U.S. employers ramped up hiring last month and more Americans began looking for work, a sign that President Donald Trump has inherited a robust job market.

The Labor Department says employers added 227,000 jobs in January, the most since September and higher than last year's average monthly gain of 187,000.

The unemployment rate ticked up to a low 4.8 percent last month from 4.7 percent in December. Yet the rate rose for a mostly good reason: More Americans started looking for work. The percentage of adults working or looking for jobs increased to its highest level since September.

Yet some of the economy's weak spots remain: Average hourly wages barely increased last month. And the number of people working part-time but who would prefer full-time work rose.